


Worst First Dates

by chicagochi4183



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-06-10 16:51:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6965137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicagochi4183/pseuds/chicagochi4183
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A compilation of mostly unrelated one-shots based off a tumblr post about your OTP and terrible first dates. Spock and Nyota just can't quite seem to get it right on the first try. Academy-Era.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Your credit card was declined and you don’t have enough cash so here’s twenty bucks even though this was clearly supposed to be your treat.

It was not often since Nyota had become his TA that she found herself arguing with Commander Spock. Indeed, though she had spent numerous days (and some nights) in his office demanding answers as to why she lost points on perfect translations or exemplary papers, once she had begun working with him Nyota found that she quite liked the quiet of her interactions with the Commander. He put a lot more thought into the grades he assigned than she’d realized as his pupil. 

Which is why she didn’t understand how he could possibly fail Cadet Lee for the third time. Thus as soon as he came back from lunch, grasping a bowl of the oddest soup she had ever seen, she was prepared to argue. 

“Commander, I’d like to discuss the grades you gave me to send out.” She said, standing as he walked past her desk. 

“Cadet, was there an error in my calculations?” He seemed completely unfazed by the urgency in her tone. That wasn’t a surprise; she was sure he’d heard that particular brand of irritation from her enough times that to him, it was practically normal. 

She waited for him to sit down before approaching his desk, padd in hand. 

“I believe that you have made an oversight concerning Cadet Lee.”

 

“Let me see.” That was one of the things she really liked about working with Commander Spock. There was no waiting until later. No setting future meeting times. It seemed that if she brought something up to him, he assumed she’d already decided that it was a priority – which meant it would be addressed immediately. 

“Cadet Uhura. I see no mistake. Explain.” That was less favorable. He never, ever, used niceties with her. With other officers, he often made the effort. Even in his office hours, he would throw in an occasional please, or excuse me, or any sort of filler words. But when it was just her, he always, always, got right to the point. She never asked if it was an oversight all Vulcans experienced when conversing in standard, or if it was just him. It felt rude to ask, which she thought was pretty ironic considering he never seemed to consider what was rude and what wasn’t when speaking with her. 

“Cadet.” She blinked, cursing herself inwardly for losing focus. 

“Commander, do you not think that Cadet Lee has demonstrated a tremendous effort and commitment to mastering entry level Vulcan?” 

“Affirmative.”

“And,” Nyota pressed, “wouldn’t you agree, considering that unlike for most of her peers even Standard is a fairly new language for Cadet Lee, overcoming that language barrier while attempting to learn a new language is a unique difficulty attributed to Cadet Lee alone?” 

“Cadet, your point?” Nyota fought back a sigh. 

“It is unwise and unfair to continue to fail Cadet Lee on every assignment.” 

“Explain.” Nyota closed her eyes briefly, reminding herself of all of the reasons she enjoyed working for Spock. 

“Well, Cadet Lee’s effort is commendable, is it not?” 

“Agreed.” 

“Okay, don’t you want her to keep putting in that effort?” 

“Affirmative.” Just say yes like everyone else Nyota thought to herself. 

“Right, so if you keep failing her don’t you think you’re going to push her to give up?”

“Illogical. The absence of success should spur more motivation, not less.” 

“Yeah, if she had zero emotions!” Nyota knew as soon as she said it that it came out wrong. She took a deep breath, and tried to fix it.

“What I mean, is that, I mean, it is very human to become discouraged in the face of repeated defeats. And Cadet Lee tries so hard! She’s been working on her Standard with me on the side, so that she can improve in all of her classes. And she spends longer on your assignments than anyone. And she chose Vulcan because someone told her that the speech patterns most mimic Mandarin speech patterns but obviously whoever told her that failed to account for the difficulty in the actual difference between the logic processes behind the languages. And anyways she has to translate everything in her mind into standard, then into Vulcan. And I don’t want her first experience in the Academy to be her putting all of her effort into something and feeling like a failure because she didn’t have the advantages that other Cadets have!” 

“Cadet, I am beginning to think your grievance is personal.” And Nyota knew she shouldn’t get offended, knew he was probably right, but the knowing didn’t matter.

“Excuse me?” She cried out, but despite the emotion in her voice he simply blinked at her. 

“I can see that you are offended. I did not mean to offend.”

“There is no offense where none is taken.” Nyota bit back, but it sounded fake even in her ears.

“You sympathize with Cadet Lee due to a shared experience.” She didn’t like how he could discern that so easily, even though she knew she was probably not subtle. And she hated that she got herself worked up and he was sitting there calm. She wasn’t sure if it would be better to say yes, or no, so she said neither. 

“I will admit that I experienced similar difficulty coming from a non-interstellar family in Kenya. And I am aware that you will say that I rose to the challenge. However, Cadet Lee’s strengths are in medicine and combat. Mine are in linguistics and interspecies negotiation. My difficulty in the first year was in programming, and if my professor had not encouraged my efforts throughout the semester I might not have emerged with such high marks, which I would have interpreted to mean – as those in my village told me repeatedly when I left – that maybe girls from where I’m from are not cut out for Star Fleet. I would hate to see Cadet Lee experience that.” 

“It is illogical to believe that one’s place of birth in any way determines one’s mental capabilities.”

“That is not the point!” Nyota Uhura rarely lost her temper. When she did, she rarely let it show. And when she let it show, she never, ever lost control. So, it almost made sense that the one time she completely lost her cool she would accidentally slam a Commander’s bowl of soup into his lap. The two of them were completely still, Nyota staring at him in horror, and Spock staring at his own lap with that same, expressionless stare. 

“Oh no.” Nyota broke the silence, still staring at the bowl, and the soup, and his lap. 

“Oh no, no, no, I am so sorry. Sir. I am so sorry, sir. Commander.”

“Cadet, allow me to apologize. It is clear that there was offense taken, and it would be dishonest not to admit an understanding towards a predilection to keeping ones’ emotions private.” 

“Commander where did you, what was that? I am going, I can go replicate it right now! I’ll bring it back in like 5 seconds.” Nyota went straight into panic mode, her mind working overtime to determine what it was that she could do that would make the situation alright.

“And new clothes! I can, I’ll bring you new clothes.” Alright, so she’d have to get Gaila to modify their replicator in their room which wasn’t technically within the confines of the regulations but wasn’t technically against regulation either. 

“Unfortunately, as most Vulcan delicacies are not enjoyed by other species, the replicators do not make this dish.”

“Homemade? Perfect, I can run to your apartment and get you new clothes and more soup, if you made more. Or I can hold down the fort here if you would prefer to excuse yourself.”

“This soup was from a restaurant, and thus is not replicable. It is of no matter. Clearly, you feel strongly about Cadet Lee. As I would not like to be the force that dissuades her from reaching her full potential, I will trust that your analysis is correct, and thus it makes more sense to reward her effort with a sixty, in place of a fifty-nine.”

“I can take you there! To the restaurant!” Nyota declared triumphantly. Spock stared at her for a long time, long enough for her to wonder if what she said had broken some sort of cultural taboo. But she couldn’t think of anything, so when he spoke she was relieved to hear that same, easy tone with no hint of irritation. 

“You wish to accompany me to the restaurant where I procured this soup in order to purchase more for me.” It took her a few seconds too long to realize that it was a question, enough time for his eyebrows to dip, slightly, in the middle. 

“Oh! Yes, I do. To apologize.” 

“It is not necessary.” He said immediately, already turning his attention away. Nyota fought back a sigh once again, knowing that sighing at him wouldn’t make him any more likely to accept. 

“Please? I feel genuinely remorseful that I lost control of my emotions and I would appreciate an opportunity to demonstrate my contrition.”

“That is very Terran.” He said. She couldn’t tell if he meant it as an acceptance or a rejection, so she decided to take it as acceptance. 

“Yes it is. Shall we leave at 19:00 hours? Will it still be open? Does tonight work for you?”

“Affirmative.” He said, leaving her to assume that he meant yes to all of her questions.

“Alright, we can meet by the hoverbus station.”

“I would prefer my own form of transportation. We will meet at my quarters at 18:30.”

“Oh, alright.” She said. Of course, she reasoned, he wouldn’t want to be in a situation that might necessitate being awkwardly close to strangers. She took his silence as a dismissal, and went back to work. He did excuse himself at one point, and when he returned in fresh clothing she fought back another wave of embarrassment. She was beyond relieved when she’d finished her tasks for the day and was able to leave. 

Hours later, she found herself arguing with her roommate, Gaila, over what she was supposed to wear to her apology dinner. 

“You are expecting me to believe that you and the Commander are finally going out to spend time together out of the office, but for non-sexual purposes? Don’t be ridiculous.” Gaila asked, holding up a dress that Nyota did not remember buying for herself. She figured that it had to be one of Gaila’s own, and while a part of her was touched, a bigger part of her would never, ever wear something that short to dinner with a professor or anyone else. 

“Gaila you haven’t even listened to what happened.” Nyota protested.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have listened to your hormones. I have told you, repeatedly, that his hormonal frequencies pick up every time that you are around him in a way that suggests a sexual or, what’s the word you use, romantic interest. This is science, Nyota. You are arguing with science.” 

“Gaila, I am telling you that you are wrong. This is not a date, and Commander Spock does not have a…romantic interest in me. Perhaps Vulcans emit a low level hormonal hum at all times and because your two species seldom interact you have never been taught to filter it out.”

“Only around you? Don’t be ridiculous.” Nyota had said ‘don’t be ridiculous’ to Gaila once, ONCE, and it had become her favorite phrase. 

“I don’t know what to tell you Gaila, but this is not a date. It’s an apology. A huge apology. I dumped soup on him.” There was a pause so long that Nyota was almost forced to look back at Gaila. She looked confused, like she was trying to puzzle something out. 

“I have never heard this one before, and I do not have any reasonable guesses. Explain the dumping of soup.” Gaila finally said. 

“What?”

“Is it a mating ritual, or a sexual act? Is it Vulcan, because that wasn’t in the textbook and if I had to learn to do the ta’al then I should have learned about soup spilling. Or is it from Kenya? Oh, does it involve feet? Because most humans are not creative enough with –”

“Gaila stop! No, I literally mean soup. He had soup for lunch from some fancy Vulcan restaurant and I ruined it by slapping the bowl with my huge, man hands and pouring it all over his pants.” Gaila was silent again, looking crestfallen.

“Nyota Uhura you are absolutely no fun, do you know that?” 

“Gaila…” Nyota sighed, but had nothing else to say.

“No. Begin the story at the beginning.” Gaila demanded. Nyota did, wincing at the parts about her losing her cool completely. 

“Wait, you influenced Professor Spock to change his mind about a grade for another student? To a pass? Are you sure that the spilling of soup is not a sexual thing for Vulcans?” 

“Gaila!” 

“Nyota, I do not know why you insist on denying your attraction to him. Things can be purely physical you know. I am not asking you to admit that you want to, ugh, get married.” Nyota wasn’t even sure where to begin responding.

“Gaila, I have told you repeatedly that most cultures do, in fact, value marriage and it is not a disgusting concept. And I don’t, objectively yes he is attractive but so are a lot of people! That doesn’t mean that I’m attracted to him.” 

“Are you doing that human thing where you say that you do not want to do something because you are scared to do it? Because I will tell Commander Spock of your sexual attraction for you, if you would like.” 

“Gaila no!”

“But it is a sure thing, because he is also sexually attracted to you.”

“Gaila, please stop.” 

“Fine. If you insist on ignoring your own basic biology, I will help you dress for your date that is not a date.” 

It took almost another hour before Gaila and Nyota agreed on what she would wear – heavily influenced by Gaila threatening to throw away all of Nyota’s other clothing if she left the room in something that was not Gaila-approved. They settled for a dress in a deep green, which Nyota thought was ridiculously too formal for the situation but which Gaila insisted was barely passable. 

She was almost late getting to the professor’s quarters, and she had to stop and check that she had the right apartment twice before she knocked on the door. But once he opened the door, she was suddenly beyond relieved that Gaila had intervened. He was wearing his dress uniform. Nyota had never seen a dress uniform in person, and certainly not on Commander Spock. It made him seem somehow more imposing. He looked taller, his shoulders looked broader, his jawline more defined. Then she realized that she was standing there staring at him, and forced herself to look away.

“I didn’t realize that this place was formal.” Nyota said, smoothing a hand over the skirt of her dress.

“It is not.” 

“Oh, well, I thought maybe because of your uniform?” She wasn’t sure what she was asking. 

“Commander Pike informed me that it would be in my better interest to present a more formal appearance for this excursion.”

“You told him about this?” Nyota felt her stomach drop abruptly. She had never heard anyone refer so casually to Commander Pike – was sure that she was not on his radar. Except, based on what Spock had said, he was either convinced that they were going on a date, or he was aware that she had lost her cool and dumped food all over a superior officer. She wasn’t sure what was worse. 

“Affirmative. Cadet, we must leave if we are to arrive at the restaurant in time for our reservation.”

“You made a reservation?” Nyota asked, stomach dropping further, even as she stepped aside to let him exit his quarters. A reservation was so formal, pre-meditated. 

“Affirmative.” She wanted to ask him why, but she didn’t have a good reason to, so she just let the discomfort build in her stomach. 

The drive to the restaurant should have been spent in silence. Nyota knew that the purpose of going to the restaurant was to procure the soup for him, and then pay and leave. None of that necessitated her speaking any more than normal, especially since she knew Commander Spock didn’t exactly like aimless conversation. But when she saw his hovercraft, her ability to be silent was effectively eradicated.

“This is not a Starfleet issue vehicle.” She said, taking it in. It was shiny, sleek, black, and there was no other word for it but sexy. It was a sexy vehicle, and the thought of Commander Spock driving it made Nyota suddenly very aware of her earlier conversation with Gaila, and how well his uniform fit him, and suddenly she wondered how ridiculous it would be to offer to take a bus still and meet him wherever they were going. 

“Would you prefer a regulation vehicle? Empirically, this is the more comfortable vehicle.” 

Yes. “No this is fine, great,” she said instead. He nodded, moving forward to open the door for her. There were only two seats, and despite the fact that she could have expected that from the size of the car, it still took her by surprise. She sat down, gingerly, and he shut the door after her before getting in and starting it. 

It came to life with a dull roar that faded to complete silence and stillness, so still that she had to check that it was still on. Even when he pulled out it was so light, unnoticeable almost, that if she hadn’t seen the landscape going by she might have believed that it wasn’t moving at all. 

“Commander Spock, I, I had no idea you were a vehicle enthusiast.” Nyota said, unsure of how else to breach the topic. 

“You refer, I assume, to the quality of this vehicle. I assure you I am not. Rather, it was a gift.” Nyota was left wondering who gave our ridiculously expensive vehicles as gifts, and how she could make their acquaintance. 

“Have you examined the machinery?” 

“I deconstructed the engine upon receiving the vehicle and reconfigured it for a more efficient usage of energy.” 

“What?”

“Was I unclear? I meant to say that I –”

“You were perfectly clear, I’m just in shock. Or rather, I am impressed that you possessed the technological know-how to reconfigure the engine of a vehicle you had just received. Despite my own interest in vehicles, which is limited and largely due to my father, I would not be able to do so on such a complex engine.” 

“Would you like to hear about the process?” Nyota smiled, turning towards the window so that he wouldn’t see. 

“Absolutely.” She said, smiling out at the trees. A glance at the speedometer revealed that the Commander was going exactly the speed limit, but she imagined that the max speed was probably exhilarating. 

To her surprise, Commander Spock launched into a detailed description of the processes he used to first dismantle, then improve the internal systems. He had only mentioned the engine, but his explanation revealed that in actuality he had improved a lot about it. It occurred to Nyota that logic might not have had much to do with his selection, as despite the fact that he hadn’t said anything to indicate so, something about the way he spoke made Nyota feel that he was proud of the improvements. 

“That’s incredible.” She spoke up in all of the right places, just enough to keep him speaking. She understood about half of what he was speaking about, but she didn’t want to cut him off and ask him for clarification. It was fascinating to hear it in perfect recall. She almost didn’t notice when he pulled up to the front of the restaurant. But as he opened the door for her, the weight of the evening settled back over her. 

The restaurant wasn’t Vulcan, just off-world. Though it didn’t necessitate his dress uniform or her dress, she also would have felt awkward if she’d worn her uniform as she originally intended. They were right on time, something that the stewardess noticed as she led them to their table. She was Trill, and was delighted when Nyota complimented her face spots in her best Trill, although she was still working on the accent. 

“Do you want the Vulcan menu again?” She asked the Commander, as soon as they were seated. Nyota wondered how often Spock went to the restaurant, or if the woman had simply been there earlier when he had come for lunch. 

“Affirmative.”

“And a human menu for you?” She turned to Nyota, slipping into Trill. Nyota glanced at Spock, but whether he spoke Trill or not he didn’t seem bothered. 

“I would like the Vulcan menu, actually.” Nyota knew that a lot of it would probably be unpalatable for her, but it seemed like a waste to go to a restaurant off campus and order the same foods that she could replicate in the mess hall. 

“Oh! Adventurous! Alright, your waiter will be over with your menus soon!” The stewardess practically chirped in Trill, before walking away. Despite the fact that they had spent the entire drive speaking, Nyota had no idea what to say to Spock now that she was sitting across from him at the table. Her legs were pressed back underneath her chair, in fear of accidently touching his under the table. She was sitting nearly perfectly straight, and was as uncomfortable as she’d been in her first days as his student. 

Part of it was that she had never had to carry out a conversation with him about nothing, but a bigger part of it was that she could not get her conversation with Gaila out of her head with him sitting across from her looking broody with his ridiculously angular jaw and the way that his dark eyes were entirely concentrated on her across the table. Still, she knew that he would not say anything, and she had to say something to kill the silence.

“When the menus come, are you familiar with, that is to say, would you be able to recommend a dish to me? I mean one that is compatible with a human digestive system?”

“Affirmative, though I feel I must clarify that as our digestive systems are not that different, most items will be a matter of taste. Assuming that this is what you were inquiring after, I believe I will be able to make the appropriate suggestions.” He looked like he wanted to say more but at that moment the waiter, a surprisingly jolly Andorian, handed them their menus. 

Nyota did not recognize a single dish, nor its description, but Spock proved surprisingly helpful. He was able to give a comparison for every item on the list, which is how she ended up selecting something that, according to him, was like a cheese pasta though it contained neither of those ingredients. 

Except for some very stilted questions from Nyota, which Spock always answered succinctly, their awaited their meal mostly in silence. It was almost like sitting in the office, only she had nothing to look at except the way she was pretty sure she could see his biceps moving every time he moved his arms, and the fact that he had only seldom taken his eyes off her since they sat down. Even after they ordered, and she found out that his lunch was called Plomeek Soup and was apparently his known favorite (which of course made her wonder again how often he visited the establishment), they still had a stilted, largely one-sided conversation.

What made it worse for Nyota was that she could not tell if it was awkward for him the way it was for her. He seemed so cool and collected, just like he was at any other point, that she could not gather his feelings at all. This left her to fill in what he was thinking, and she was not coming up with favorable interpretations. 

Still, it wasn’t the worst evening she had ever had. When he did speak, Spock was unusually forthcoming. She learned more about his time with Starfleet and at the Academy, and found that he had a much more interesting past than she’d have guessed. She couldn’t imagine turning down the Vulcan Science Academy, perhaps not even for Starfleet, were offworlders allowed to go. He spoke about the things he’d accomplished as a cadet as if they were nothing, and she wondered if that was the Vulcan control, or if he just didn’t realize how accomplished he was. The thought that he didn’t left her kind of empty. 

When their food came out, Nyota had to resist moaning aloud. She would not have known how to describe what she was eating, except to say that it was incredible. It did taste a bit like the few times she’d ever eaten mac’n’cheese, if the pasta was made with potatoes and the cheese was saltier and a thicker, jellier consistency. But she never would have made that connection on her own, as what she was eating was bright green. 

“How is your soup?” Nyota asked, once she’d enjoyed the first few amazing bites of her dinner. She thought that even if Spock secretly never forgave her, the dinner was worth it for what she was eating. 

“Superbly constructed. From your expression of satisfaction, I assume yours is as well?” 

“Amazing. Seriously. If all Vulcan food tastes this good, how do you possibly eat replicator food?”

“With comparable difficulty.” He answered, and she fought back a smile that he answered a rhetorical question. They ate in silence, but it felt like a much more comfortable silence since Nyota had something more to focus on. 

She got so comfortable, she forgot to wait for the other shoe to drop. Of course, it still did. 

“I hate to interrupt your evening but we have encountered a problem.” Nyota startled, looking up abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, since Spock was clearly waiting for more information and the poor Andorian, looking extremely nervous, was clearly waiting for an invitation to speak. 

“Our credit system is completely down.” 

“You cannot process credit payments?” Nyota asked, and for the millionth time that day she felt a sense of dread. The last time she’d counted her physical cash was four months ago, and she’d had a twenty that her father pressed into her hands for emergencies. The idea that she needed to carry cash was so outdated in San Francisco, that she forgot that credit systems were not infallible. Of course, she reasoned, it wasn’t as though she could be the only patron who didn’t have cash. 

“What is your back-up system?” She asked, slipping into Andorian without even thinking about it in her anxiety. 

“Well, we can take your contact information and attempt to locate you when our system comes back up. But I do not wish for you to cut your evening short on our account.” Nyota was about to tell him that it was fine, but before she could Spock spoke.

“That will not be necessary, I assume you can accept physical payment?” 

“That is not necessary either. I can provide my contact information.” Spock stared at her, eyebrows drawn low over his face, and Nyota bit back her frustration.

“This was my apology, I’m going to pay for it.” Nyota tried to explain. Spock shook his head.

“Illogical.” Before Nyota could even argue anything else, Spock took out a wallet and produced the exact amount of necessary bills, handing it over to their waiter with a polite nod. Nyota tried to reign in her emotions, but she knew she was failing when Spock spoke again. 

“You are upset with my decision. Explain.” His order certainly didn’t help her feel any better, but she attempted to apply some sort of logic to her feelings. 

“Commander, it defeats the purpose of me bringing you here to apologize if you purchase your own meal. You could have done that at any time. The act of me buying the food was the apology. Now, I feel like I still haven’t made anything right. If anything, I owe you more because you had to pay for me, too.” 

“Cadet, as I expressed previously, there was no need to bring me here as an apology when no offense was taken. Furthermore, as you have in fact brought me here, your company and enjoyment of my homeland’s culture and foods can be considered another form of payment.”

“I, this has been the worst day.” Nyota sighed, scrubbing a hand over her face. 

“That is a sentiment that I do not share, though I endeavor to know how I can make your day better.” 

“Really? Not literally the worst day, but up there right? I am so, so sorry Commander. I yelled at you, and dumped food all over you, and practically bullied you into coming here, and now you have to pay for me because I didn’t even think to bring any physical money. I really just, I’m sorry.” He sighed, just the tiniest amount of extra force behind his exhale – and she wondered whether he would merely respond in the affirmative, or if he’d ask her to quit as his TA. 

“Cadet, it would be illogical of me to expect you to never express human emotions when you are, in fact, human. In my experience the amount of emotional control you demonstrate daily, which I am aware is for my benefit and comfort, is commendable. Furthermore, though the experience of having soup unexpectedly poured on me is not one that I find enjoyable, it is...satisfactory to me that you are invested in the lives of younger cadets to the degree that you were willing to speak up in defense of another cadet with the same fervor that you defended yourself when you were my student.” He stopped, and she was sure that he could not say more, sure that it was all that she could take. 

From him it was practically a glowing character review – she had never heard him say so much at one time concerning his inner thought processes. Nor, she realized, had he ever expressed that he viewed her arguments with him as positive, though when he requested her as a TA she’d suspected he at least did not hate her for them. But then he spoke again, abruptly cutting off her thought process as she braced herself for the unknown. 

“Furthermore Cadet Uhura, if I did not desire to come here with you, I would not have. I apologize if my questioning of your logical processes conveys anything other than the esteem in which I hold you. My father employed a similar tactic of expressing admiration with a similar result; perhaps I should have learned more from his example. In any case, I am not being needlessly complimentary nor facetious when I say that having a human voluntarily respect and seek further information about Vulcan dietary preferences is gratifying, and doubly so because of my high opinion of you.” 

She didn’t have anything to say to that, at all. She was a linguist, capable of speaking more languages than any other Cadet currently at the academy, and yet she could not think of one single word to attempt to convey, or even make sense of, the emotional turmoil that his confession was causing her. He didn’t seem to see anything strange in her silence either, sitting there and letting her stay completely quiet. 

“If you’re finished we should probably go.” She finally said, staring between her empty plate and his mostly-empty bowl. He finished his soup in two quick bites, and then immediately stood and helped her from her chair. They walked back to the valet in silence, and stood in silence as they went to retrieve his vehicle. It was Spock that finally broke the silence, looking down at her. 

“I apologize if my attempts at clarification have furthered your discomfort.” 

“No! No…you didn’t. Not really. I just, I never knew you had such a high opinion of me. It’s flattering.” She said, but what she wanted to say was that it was too much. Him, and her conversation with Gaila, and his dress uniform, and the amazing dinner, and riding in his hovercar, and all of the kind things he’d said about her, it was all just too much for her to process. She was a mess of feelings, and she didn’t want to say the wrong thing or do something she would regret. 

The whole drive back was silent. She had no idea what to say, and she had no idea what he was thinking. When they got back, he pulled over in front of her quarters, and she hadn’t even realized that he knew where she lived. He was out in a flash, coming around the side to open the door for her, and that was the final straw. The dam burst for Nyota, and her mind forced her to admit that she was attracted to the commander. Undoubtedly. In that moment more than ever. 

She wished him a good night, and made her way back into her room. Gaila was sitting on the bed, and pretended to swoon as Nyota walked in.

“Warn me if you’re going to come in with all those hormones.” Nyota just kicked her shoes off and flopped onto her bed. 

“Did something happen? Did you spill the soup?” Nyota didn’t even have the energy to remind Gaila that it wasn’t a euphemism. 

“Did you?” The joke was gone from Gaila’s voice, and she moved closer to Nyota as though she’d be able to sense it.

“No.” Nyota sighed.

“But you admitted that you want to?” Nyota didn’t say anything, but she knew Gaila would interpret it as an admittance of guilt. Unfortunately for her, Gaila was right. 

“Yay! I told you. Your hormones don’t lie Nyota Uhura. Did you tell him?”

“Of course not!” Nyota sat up, staring at Gaila in shock.

“Why? I told you, sure thing. It’s in your hormones.” 

“Gaila.” Nyota let herself fall back onto her bed, even as Gaila scoffed.

“You humans make everything too complicated. Maybe I should have attempted to appeal to Commander Spock instead. Vulcans have to appreciate the logic of a sure thing.” Her smug expression was wiped off her face as Nyota sent a well-aimed pillow sailing right into the back of her head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A compilation of mostly unrelated one-shots based off a tumblr post about your OTP and terrible first dates. Spock and Nyota just can't quite seem to get it right on the first try. Academy-Era.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Promt: Our first kiss was so bad that I didn’t call you but now you’ve called twice and I don’t know what to do.

Nyota Uhura was not drunk. She’d only had one or two Cardassian Sunrises. She was an exemplary cadet at an exclusive after-party for the best of Starfleet and, apparently, the people they slept with and those people’s best friends. But it was alright that she’d accepted Gaila’s invitation because she was going to network. She was going to network the hell out of the event, because she was as sober as they came. 

“Gaila, what was in these?” Was she slurring? She absolutely was not. 

“It’s a special mix. It’s an Orion Sunrise.” 

“What’s the difference?” It tasted the same to Nyota. Sweet, warm, and just the tiniest bit spicy at the same time. 

“Oh, look, that’s him!” Gaila pointed to a man with the blackest skin Nyota had ever seen. It took her a second to process the rest of his features and realize that he wasn’t actually human. 

“Where is he from?”

“Attractive, yes?” 

“What does he speak?” Nyota stared, realized she was staring, and then continued to stare. 

“He’s from Marell Prime 2. But he speaks Standard. I think they use, what’s the word, psychic talking. No language you can learn Nyota. Hey, listen, they have two –”

“Cadets?”

“Commander Spock!” Gaila sounded positively gleeful at being cut off. With the room moving slowly and quickly at once all around her, it took Nyota a second to turn away from Gaila’s new beau to look at the commander. 

“Oh! You’re in your dress uniform!” She remarked, even though she knew for a fact that she meant to say hello. 

“Indeed.” 

“Well, I’m going to get us more drinks.” Gaila said, “Do you want anything Sir?” 

“Cadet, Vulcan metabolisms burn much too quickly for alcohol to have any effect on us, and furthermore I do not find I like the taste.”

“But Commander, they have one that’s chocolate based.”

“Negative.” As Gaila headed towards the bar, pouting, Nyota looked up at Commander Spock. 

“How is your evening Commander?” 

“Enjoyable. Though, I admit I am curious as to how two cadets secured an invitation to this event.”

“Gaila slept with someone.” She meant to think it, but she said it out loud. 

“Not for the invite. She was already sleeping – engaging in relations – with, with someone.”

“Understood.” Nyota was just present enough to be embarrassed with her word vomit, thought she knew Gaila wouldn’t be. At that point, Gaila returned with two more “Orion Sunrises” and Nyota took a large gulp of hers to keep from saying something else regrettable. She still wasn’t as comfortable with the Commander as Gaila, even though she viewed him as almost a friend. 

“Come! I want you to meet Mmx” For his name Gaila hummed out a short note followed by a distinct click. Nyota wondered if her mouth would allow her to do that, and made a mental note to endeavor towards it when she was less drunk. 

He was more attractive up close. His eyes were actually more catlike than she’d realized, and when he blinked she realized he had an inner eyelid. He also had a very, very fine coating of fur. He looked soft. 

“It’s lovely to meet you Miss Nyota.” He said, bowing down to kiss her hand. When he stood, he arched an eyebrow. 

“I was just telling Nyota about how you have two –” Gaila was once again cut off, this time by a tall blonde woman who placed a hand on Mmx’s shoulder almost possessively. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met? I’m Commander Roan, and you must be our esteemed guest. I am very curious about your culture, and I would love to discuss some rumors I’ve heard in a more private location.” Nyota, halfway through her third Orion Sunrise, was too slow to warn the woman about all of the reasons it was a terrible idea to attempt to claim an Orion’s current sexual conquest. Gaila leaned in, physically slid the Commander’s hand off of Mmx’s shoulder, and then moved between him and the woman. Her skin was getting deeper green by the second. 

“I am not finished with him yet, you have to wait your turn. Also, your pheromones are going to give me a headache if you stick around here too long Commander, so for diplomatic purposes I am requesting that you leave. Anyways I know your question and yes, he does have two in there.” She gestured strongly towards Mmx’s pants, and Nyota’s eyes widened. She stepped into intervene, but before she could Mmx burst out laughing. 

“Sorry Commander, it appears I am spoken for.” He laughed. He slung one furry arm around Gaila, and one around Nyota, and began leading them away. His fur was even softer than Nyota could have reasonably expected, and she found herself rubbing her face into his arm before she realized what she was doing. She stopped.

“That feels really nice.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, so Nyota continued. 

“Mmx am I to believe that these cadets are your dates?” Nyota snapped to attention at the sound of that voice. Commander Pike was grinning, holding a drink in one fist and gesturing wildly with it. 

Nyota moved to say no, but Mmx pulled her and Gaila in closer. 

“Very beautiful, are they not?” He laughed again, and Nyota looked to Gaila. She was grinning at Pike almost lasciviously, and Nyota didn’t know what to say. 

“Well then, I suppose that the rumors are true.” Nyota was shocked when Pike nodded towards Mmx’s pants with a raised eyebrow, and even more shocked when everyone but her laughed. She was very quickly realizing that she was out of her depth in present company. 

“I can show you if you would like Commander. We are not as closed to sexual experiences as you humans.” Pike laughed, loudly, and shook his head.

“Oh no. You have your fun, but I’m sure I wouldn’t live down the envy. Ah, Commander Spock.” Nyota couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. There was no way that Spock would engage in the same conversation. Mmx’s arm slid against her face again, and then again. She realized that she’d stopped rubbing her face against his arm, so he was rubbing his arm against her face. It felt nice, even as she looked up at the Commanders. Pike looked positively jolly, and Spock’s face was unreadable. Well, not entirely unreadable. She swore his eyebrows dipped down in the middle, just a tad, as if he was upset. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Mmx smiled at Spock. They were of similar heights, Nyota noticed, but Spock was just a bit taller. 

“Do you know my cadets?” He asked, stroking Nyota’s arm as he spoke. The more he rubbed against her, the warmer Nyota felt. She wondered, again, what exactly was in her Orion Sunrises. She’d never gotten drunk off of two-and-a-half Cardassian Sunrises before. 

“Am I correct in my assumption that Cadet Uhura is not aware of the abilities of those on your planet?” Spock stared down Mmx, who shook his head. 

“No, she knows, right Gaila?”

“Know what?” Nyota asked, pulling away a bit to stare at her roommate. Gaila was flushing greener, and not in a good way. 

“She’s very uptight.” Gaila stated, as if it was an explanation. 

“Gaila, what did you do?” Nyota asked. Mmx retracted his arm from around her shoulder, and Nyota immediately wanted the contact back. 

“You are aware that we are a psi-hormonal species?” Mmx asked her. Nyota blinked at him, and he shook his head. Then he laughed again.

“Well, then let me make a formal offer.”

“No don’t!” Gaila tried to cut him off, but Mmx was not deterred.

“Would you like to join Gaila and me in bed this evening?” Nyota immediately took a step back and stared at Gaila in disbelief. 

“You did not.”

“I have been telling you since our first day together that you are too uptight. Nyota, do I need to tell you how many known alien species besides Orions are predisposed towards group sex? Because it is very rare and so you cannot be mad at me for wanting to share that with you.” 

“Yes I can!” 

“Gaila,” Mmx cut in gently. “I believe that your roommate is not going to change her mind. Which is a shame, because your hormones are actually very compatible, and it would have made for an incredible experience. Still, that is her wish. Miss Nyota, it is lovely to have met you, and I apologize for the confusion and for your hormonal imbalance. Hopefully you find some way to relieve it, tonight.” He winked, and slid his arm back around Gaila, who stopped.

“We can’t go anywhere. Nyota is too drunk to get home by herself.”

“I am not.” Nyota insisted. Gaila sighed.

“You will be once that last sunrise hits you.” 

“I will assist the Cadet so that you may, resume your evening activity.” Nyota had forgotten that they had an audience. And not just any audience, the only two confirmed crew members of the Enterprise.

“I promise, I am very diplomatically sensitive.” She turned to Commander Pike, who she was horrified to note was grinning from ear to ear.

“With a roommate like that, I believe it!” Pike laughed, and Nyota was relieved to realize that he, too, was drunk. He certainly couldn’t hold her behavior against her. 

“Alright, Nyota, don’t give the Commander a hard time!” Gaila chirped, smiling. She leaned in and kissed Nyota sound on the mouth, which she always did when she was excited, horny, or feeling any particularly strong emotion, and practically yanked Mmx away. 

“Well, there is no way my evening will top theirs.” Pike laughed to himself as he watched them leave, before moving to get another drink. Then it was just Spock and Nyota.

“I feel obligated to ask the frequency with which your roommate attempts to coerce you into sexual behavior.” 

“Gaila would never force anything on me, ever. She just thinks I need to loosen up and I think she hopes that one day she’ll get me too worked up to want to say no.”

“Worked up?” Nyota should not have said that aloud. She stared at Spock, willing him to understand without her having to explain. But he clearly did not. 

“Horny.” She muttered, knowing that with his exceptional hearing he would hear her perfectly anyways. 

“If you believed that your arousal was a secret I must inform you that Mmx made it quite clear that he was influencing both your and your roommates’ hormonal states.” 

“That does not make me feel better.” Nyota sighed. 

“Well, this evening was a waste. I came here to network, and now I would be mortified to meet anyone like this.” 

“Would you like me to accompany you home?” Nyota knew that he was offering to be polite. Knew that he meant accompany her to her door. But suddenly, she remembered that her room would be empty when she got back. She sighed, trying to battle her thoughts. It was still the most practical offer she had. 

“That’d be very kind, thank you.” 

The walk back was very uncomfortable. Absentmindedly Nyota had downed the rest of her drink before they left, and she was regretting it. She was walking unsteadily, and eventually Commander Spock put an arm, very carefully, across her shoulders to hold her up. Normally she would be mortified, but she was just so warm and uncomfortable. She knew it would be a long, lonely evening in her room. 

When they got to the door, Nyota stopped. Commander Spock very carefully extracted his arm from around her shoulders, and Nyota stood. 

“Enjoy your evening.” He said. Nyota nodded. Then, instead of turning and walking away he was leaning towards her. Nyota didn’t even think. She just leaned up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his. Immediately, she realized something was wrong. For one, he wasn’t moving, at all. Every muscle in his body was rigid. Then, she heard her door swish open behind her, and she realized he’d opened the access pad for her. 

She immediately pulled back, a strange mix of turned on and mortified. 

“Oh my God.” Spock was frozen, eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. She might have laughed if she wasn’t so embarassed. She immediately stepped into her room, slammed the panel for the door to close, and buried herself under the covers of her bed – shoes and all. 

She woke up like that, a tangled mess in her sheets though surprisingly not hung-over. At first, she didn’t remember how she got back. But then the door opened as Gaila came in, and everything came back.

“Oh my God.” Nyota knew it was an antiquated expression, but it was the only thing she could think to say. 

“I have returned!” Gaila smiled brightly. 

“We found someone else to join us, but you should change your mind.”

“Gaila!” Nyota whisper yelled.

“Why are you whispering?” Gaila whispered.

“Gaila I kissed Commander Spock.”

“That’s it?”

“Gaila, I kissed him against his will! I just like, attacked him. And it’s all your fault.”

“I do not apologize. Then what happened?”

“He was just trying to open the door for me!” 

“I know Vulcans have good hearing but I doubt he can hear us.” Gaila spoke at a normal volume. 

“Shh! Just, okay. We are never going to speak of this. I can avoid him forever, right?”

“But you’re friends.”

“No, you’re friends. We’re, I don’t know. I don’t want to see him.” 

“So you only kiss people you’re not friends with? Is that why you never kiss me back?” 

“Gaila, this is not the time. Help me think of how I can avoid him.”

“Want me to download his schedule for you? He has almost no security on his files. I’ve told him this, but he says that securing his documents is unnecessary.” Nyota wanted to say no, knew that she should say no. Instead, she nodded. Minutes later, she had her game plan for how to avoid him. 

For the next week she ate in the mess hall only when he had class or office hours, even if it meant ducking in between classes. She avoided the hallways of his office and of his classes, unless she was sure he was supposed to be in another building. She did her studying in her room rather than the library, and declined all invitations to be out of the room any more than she had to be. She was just starting to feel like everything would blow over when she stepped back into her room the following Friday, bagel in hand. 

Her comm was flashing on her nightstand, and she saw not one, but two missed calls from Commander Spock. Worse, she had a formal request to visit him in his office. Normally, formal requests were only for struggling students. She had never, in her time at the Academy, received one. But it was impossible to turn it down. So, the following Monday, she turned up in his office hoping against hope that he wanted to speak to her about anything else. 

“Cadet.” He said, as soon as she walked in. He stood behind his desk. 

“Commander.” She responded, hating that she sounded nervous. She moved closer to his desk, but his words made her pause before she could sit down. 

“I believe that you have been avoiding me?” She tried to stand taller, staring up at him. 

“Oh, what makes you think –”

“Your roommate is not as stealthy as she believes, though I commend her for surpassing my firewalls.”

“She said you didn’t protect your files.” Nyota knew it was an admission of guilt, but she was also growing increasingly irritated with Gaila. And herself. She should have said no.

“To Gaila nothing is protected unless it has a code that she cannot crack.”

“Well I’m, I didn’t want to speak about what happened.”

“Why?”

“Because I shouldn’t have.”

“Explain.”

“Explain what? It was awful. You didn’t want to kiss me. I was drunk and, whatever Gaila and her friend did to me. It was poor judgment on my part and incapacitated or not I should have made a better decision.”

“Incorrect.” 

“What?”

“You are incorrect.”

“That is kind of you, but I don’t need you to make an excuse for me. I’m an adult and an aspiring member of Starfleet; I should handle myself better. Or at least recognize when I am being compromised.”

“I am inclined to agree.”

“Then what did I say that was incorrect, Sir?”

“You are wrong to assume that I did not want to kiss you. Furthermore, though I am aware that it is a matter of opinion, I would not term the experience awful.” 

Nyota could not say anything. She stared at Spock, who seemed to consider it an invitation to keep speaking. 

“I am aware that the performance on my end was not satisfactory, and I would like to rectify this, if you are acquiescent.”

Nyota’s eyes narrowed in confusion. She knew she had to be misunderstanding something because it sounded like – “Are you asking if you can kiss me? Again?” 

“Affirmative.” Spock took a step towards her, tentatively. 

“Oh.” Nyota didn’t know what to say. He stood there, staring down at her. 

“Unless you are not acquiescent.” He said, and she realized she hadn’t said anything. 

“I, okay.” She said, still trying to process what he’d said. Except, he clearly took it as acquiescence because with two steps she was in his arms and he was kissing her. And then she was kissing him back, and his back felt strong under hands and he was pulling her closer. It was nothing like Nyota might ever have expected, as he pulled her flush against his body. She was almost glad, in the far part of her mind that was still thinking, that he hadn’t kissed her this way outside her room. She might never have let him leave. 

He pulled back from her just as suddenly, looking down at her. 

“That was more enjoyable?” It took her a few breaths to realize it was a question. She looked up at him, the green slowly fading from his ears. 

“Unsure. Repeated trials advised.” She said. Then she ran her hands slowly up his chest, grabbed his face in her hands, and pulled him back down to her lips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Covers eyes with hands* this one is a lot more...out there than the first one. Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A compilation of mostly unrelated one-shots based off a tumblr post about your OTP and terrible first dates. Spock and Nyota just can't quite seem to get it right on the first try. Academy-Era.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of the last chapter.

“So, he kissed you. And you kissed him. Are you dating? Both of you are from monogamous cultures” Gaila only frowned a tiny bit when she said monogamous and Nyota was proud “so exclusive dating is the next step, yes?”

 

“I don’t know. We haven’t, I haven’t spoken to him since then. We made out and then someone knocked on his door and I slipped out while he was speaking to them and we’ve been polite but he hasn’t said anything so I didn’t want to say anything. Do you think it’s possible he just didn’t want me to think he’s a bad kisser?”

 

“Is he?”

 

“No.”

 

“I don’t think so Nyota. I’ve never met a Vulcan who would kiss someone just because. They’re very uptight about physical contact in general. And repressed.”

 

“Gaila you can’t call an entire civilization repressed.” Gaila sniffed in response, laying back on her bed and turning her head up to the ceiling. Nyota sighed.

 

“Well, it’s a moot point. I have more important things to worry about. Did you still want to come with me to pick up my parents from the station?”

 

“No. I have to study, so I will wait here. And before you say anything I know that I can’t kiss your mother or father on the mouth. Is your sister coming?”

 

“No she is not. Thankfully. But this time tomorrow the week will be over and I’ll be with my parents!” 

 

“I still think that if your mother knows Orion culture she will be offended if I kiss her on the cheek, but I am deferring to your judgment.” 

 

“Go to sleep Gaila.” 

 

The next morning, Nyota was practically walking on air. Even an exam couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she thought about greeting her parents later that day. When she ran into Spock in the hallway, nearly walking right into him, she was beaming. 

 

“Cadet.” He nodded, once they had sorted themselves out. 

 

“Commander.” She smiled back, and moved to walk past. His hand on her shoulder stopped her. 

 

“Cadet, I hoped to discuss something with you in my office.” 

 

“Oh, alright, lead the way.” Spock nodded, stepping forward and walking briskly down the hall. Nyota followed, trying not to feel like she was about to get in trouble. She was more than aware that she probably looked like she was chasing him. 

 

As soon as they entered his office Spock shut the door and walked to his desk, Nyota following quickly behind him. He didn’t sit and neither did she, but instead they stood facing each other for several moments until Nyota spoke up. 

 

“Um, what did you want to discuss, sir.” Spock nodded. 

 

“Would you accompany me to dinner?” Nyota blinked in shock. That had been about the last thing she had expected. 

 

“Is that why you – that’s what you want to discuss?” 

 

“Yes. There are several adequate dining establishments within walking distance of the hoverbus stations. Cadets typically find it enjoyable to dine away from the dining hall on campus.” 

 

“Oh.” Nyota was still confused. After a week of being civil, the idea of him asking her out was somewhat of a shock. 

 

“Cadet?” 

 

“Oh, um, when?” 

 

“Saturday evening at 0700 hours. Cadet, you are under no obligation to say yes. Furthermore, any reluctance or refusal on your part will not be held against you in any way and will have no effect on your future.”

 

“What?” Nyota was trying to catch up to the conversation, but Spock kept speaking.

 

“It is my understanding that terran males have a history of using positions of power to solicit sexual and romantic attention from females and I wish to clarify that in this instance that is not my intent. If you do not wish to dine with me I will do my best to ensure that there is no lingering discomfort between us.”

 

“Wait Spock, I want to go with you I – ”

 

“I look forward to the evening. We can meet at my office.” His shoulders slumped just a tiny bit as he spoke, and Nyota realized that he was relieved. Suddenly his rambling seemed a lot more like nervous rambling. She had to wonder if he’d been planning this for the week they hadn’t spoken, planning on asking her out. She thought of her parents, but they would understand that she already had plans. 

 

“I’m looking forward to it too.” Nyota smiled. “But I have to get going.” She nodded towards the door, and Spock nodded back. So Nyota went out the way she came, smiling just a little bit brighter. 

 

She was still smiling just as brightly when she left for the hoverbus station. Gaila, true to her word, was pouring over a textbook – some form of advanced theoretical math Nyota didn’t even want to comprehend. She left with a quick goodbye, giving Gaila an idea of when she could expect Nyota and her parents to be back. Still in a good mood, by the time Nyota arrived at the hoverbus station she was practically vibrating with excitement. The second she saw her mother’s familiar curly hair, she raced down the platform. 

 

“Mama! Baba!” It was her father who caught her in a large hug, swinging her around. 

 

“I am so excited to see you!” Her mother grasped Nyota’s face between her hands and leaned in to kiss her cheeks. Then, she leaned back and looked her daughter over from head to toe. 

 

“We’re excited to see you too! Now let’s get you back to your campus it’s getting late. Oh, we have the nicest hotel right nearby, just a walk away if you need anything!” Nyota’s smile dimmed a bit. She would’ve thought that after her years in college, then in the academy, her parents would be slightly less protective, but they never failed to prove her wrong. She thought about pointing out the fallacy of offering safety when Nyota had lived at the Academy safely without them, but she knew when to pick her battles. 

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Did you have a friend drop you off?” Her mother asked casually, as they began their walk. 

 

“No.”

 

“Oh, no nice young men were available to give you a lift?” Nyota clenched her teeth to keep her smile, and turned to her father. 

 

“Baba, I got to meet Commander Pike the other evening with Gaila. My roommate. He was really…” well, he was really drunk but she couldn’t say that. 

 

“Ah, I know what you mean.” Her father winked. “Very entertaining, the Commander. Or I suppose we should now be saying Captain, no use pretending it’s not official.” 

 

“How old is the Commander?”

 

“Baba’s age.” Nyota wasn’t sure, actually. But she knew her mother, and that was a road that she didn’t need to go down. 

 

“Mama, did I tell you about the research I might get to do next term?” Nyota swiftly steered the conversation towards her academic prowess, a subject both of her parents loved, and kept it going until they reached her dorm building. Gaila stood outside holding a bottle of wine and as the trio approached she flushed greener and greener as she beamed. 

 

“Welcome Nyota’s Family!” Gaila cheered as they approached, and wide-eyed Nyota fought back a smile. 

 

“Hello, you must be Gaila.” Nyota’s mother held her arms open for a hug and Gaila raced forward, pressing her face flush against Mama’s and beaming into the hug. Then she stepped back and presented her mother with the wine. 

 

“I brought you a gift! Welcome to the academy!” She then turned expectantly to Nyota’s father, but Nyota was surprised to see her only extend a hand. 

 

“Welcome!” She beamed. Baba smiled, shaking the proffered hand. 

 

“It is nice to meet you. Nyota has told us a lot about you.”

 

“She has told me a lot about you too. I am glad that you did not make use of the archaic human methods of corporal punishment in your discipline. I think Nyota has turned out quite successful without them.” Both of Nyota’s parents blinked, startled, but her mother recovered first. 

 

“Yes, well, I am sure that Nyota is glad too. Come, Gaila, has anyone ever braided your hair?” 

 

“No! Never!” Gaila stood, wide-eyed, and Nyota was grateful to her mother. She’d shared her suspicions on more than one occasion that she thought Gaila felt left out of having a family. 

 

“Let’s go up to your room, girls, and I can braid it if you want? I can do both of you, and then you’ll match, like sisters!” Gaila was beaming, and incredibly green, and Nyota felt a rush of warmth and pride for her mother. To his credit, her dad was taking it all in with a smile. So, the four of them sat and chatted in the dorm room, while Nyota’s mother braided first Gaila, then Nyota’s hair. Both of them were very simple styles, but Gaila kept looking at herself in the girls’ mirror and smiling as though she was draped in diamonds. When Nyota’s parents finally left for the evening, after many jokes and stories told at Nyota’s expense, Gaila pulled both parents into a tight hug. She also gave each aren’t a kiss on the cheek that was perhaps a smidge too close to their mouths, but nobody minded and Nyota’s parents left in high spirits. 

 

The two girls quickly got ready for bed, Gaila laying down with her textbook, and Nyota tucking in. Nyota had just settled down and closed her eyes when Gaila spoke up.

 

“Nyota, you walked up with your parents with Spock’s pheromones all over you. What happened?” Nyota’s eyes popped open.

 

“Oh I forgot! Gaila, he asked me out. Like, on a date. Tomorrow.”

 

“Did you really forget, or did you intend to not tell me?”

 

“Oh Gaila stop, I really forgot. Besides, I wasn’t going to tell you with my parents here. My mother would lose her mind; she would probably propose to him on my behalf. I don’t even know what I’m going to say to them tomorrow when I ditch them.” 

 

“Okay.” Gaila went back to her reading, and Nyota tried not to be miffed that her usually chatty roommate didn’t offer any advice. She was just settling into sleep when Gaila spoke up again.

 

“Nyota I really like your family.” Nyota fought off sleep. 

 

“I’m glad Gaila. They liked you too.” 

 

“And I like my hair. And what your mom said, about us being like sisters.” Nyota’s heart clenched, and she smiled sleepily across the room towards her roommate. 

 

“Me too Gaila, me too.” 

 

The next morning, both girls were up bright and early for very different reasons. Gaila had a study session planned with some people from her class, and Nyota was going to show her parents as much of San Francisco as possible. She met them at their hotel, and after helping her mom get rid of some of the things she’d over packed in her purse, the three of them set out into the city. 

 

They saw almost everything. Nyota’s very detailed plans had them going from place to place in more or less a timely fashion, and to their credit her parents did their best to keep up. It wasn’t until about 2 PM that her mother laid a hand on her arm, as they sped up the street, to stop her. 

 

“Nyota, why the hurry? You know we are here all of today and tomorrow. It’s almost like you’re trying to rush us through the weekend.”

 

“No, I just, I need to be back on campus by a certain time.”

 

“Oh, do you have work you have to do?” Nyota almost said yes, but she saw the slight frown on her father’s face. If she had work to do that would mean she wasn’t prepared for her parents to come, and the disappointment on her father’s face would be too much to handle. Instead she decided on a very heavily edited version of the truth. 

 

“I have…a meeting. With a professor. Not my professor, but, he’s Vulcan so…good practice. It was really kind of him to…meet with me tonight. So I can’t reschedule. So I wanted to make sure we had as much fun as possible today before I had to go back to campus and get ready for the…meeting.” 

 

“Oh! Is this professor single?”

 

“Mama!” Of course her mother wasn’t wrong. He was single. She was going on a date with him. But her parents didn’t need to know that. Not, she reasoned, because there was anything wrong with going on the date. But she didn’t want to spend the rest of the time with her parents deflecting her mother’s questions, especially not questions about how they got together in the first place.

 

“Nyota, I am only looking out for you.” Her mother sighed, but didn’t push the issue. So, Nyota spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with her parents about her academic life and showing them the sights of San Francisco. Then, according to her schedule, she had them back to their hotel and herself back to her room by half past five. 

 

Two hours later, Nyota stood outside of his office in a blue dress that Gaila had assured her was “phenomenal.” Right on the hour Spock turned the corner to the door, nodded towards her, and extended his arm. Shocked at the formal gesture, Nyota took his arm and looked him over. He was wearing a proper suit, the likes of which she hadn’t seen in quite some time. Even her father preferred his Kenyan traditional to a Western suit. The suit looked good on Spock. It suited him very well, hugging his broad shoulders and highlighting exactly how fit he was. 

 

“I have procured the use of a federation vehicle.” Nyota smiled, as Spock led her outside. Sure enough, he produced a pair of keys from his pocket as they walked to the lot. It was car seventeen. Like a gentleman, he opened the door for her before getting in. 

 

“Thank you, Spock.” Nyota smiled at him as he started the car.

 

“No thanks needed, it is my pleasure.” He responded. Of all the things Nyota had expected on the date, she hadn’t expected Spock to be quite so smooth. For all that he seemed nervous to ask her out, now that they were out he seemed to be in his element. 

 

“If you do not mind, I have programed the vehicle to take a longer more scenic route to my restaurant of choice. It will give us more time to speak, and the view is said to be aesthetically pleasing. We will still arrive in time for our reservation.”

 

“Yes, absolutely!” Nyota beamed, “that’s really thoughtful of you thank you.” And it was a beautiful view. Spock knew quite a lot about San Francisco, and he shared information that Nyota had never even thought to wonder about. Long hidden secrets dating back centuries, all of it relayed casually as if it wasn’t amazing that he could remember it all. His mind was fascinating. If they just drove around the city and then back to campus, Nyota realized, it would still be one of the best dates she had ever been on.

 

“How did you choose the restaurant?” Nyota asked, as the vehicle beeped to let them know they were ten minutes away. 

 

“It is a highly recommended dining establishment in this city. It is one of the oldest restaurants. It is actually pre-contact.” Nyota’s eyes widened. 

 

“That’s incredible.”

 

“It pleases me that you are pleased.” Nyota smiled, leaning over the center console to press a kiss to Spock’s cheek.

 

“This has already been one of the best dates I’ve ever been on.” She confessed, hoping her wouldn’t judge her. They had only been in the car for half an hour. Spock nodded.

 

“I endeavor to be the best.” 

 

When they arrived at the restaurant, Spock once again got out and opened the door for Nyota, before sending the car to park itself. The restaurant was interesting. From the outside it was just a door in a line of official-looking buildings. Inside, it was a beautiful space. There was a lot of mood lighting, the floors were a thick, soft carpet. It looked like the inside of someone’s home rather than a restaurant. It felt cozy, and private. Spock once again offered his arm, and the two of them walked to the counter. 

 

“Good evening. I have a reservation for two. Spock.” The boy behind the counter smiled nervously, scrolling through a padd.

 

“Yes, I see you here Mr. Spock. I am sorry, we’re just a bit backed up. You will be seated as soon as possible, we just need to seat a few people who have been waiting a while. Is that alright?” 

 

“Understandable.” Spock acquiesced, which made Nyota smile. No childish temper tantrum or attempting to throw around his weight. He accepted the delay with grace. The more time Nyota spent with him the more she liked Spock, socially and romantically. She was almost happy that Gaila had been feeding her drinks, definitely glad that she kissed him. 

 

The two of them sat down at a seat near the serving podium where Spock proceeded to give her some information about the history of the restaurant. She soaked it all in, happy just to be hearing his voice. The next words she heard had the complete opposite effect.

 

“Mr. and Mrs. Uhura? Uhura?” Nyota whipped her head around to see who would walk up, hoping that it was some sort of coincidence. It wasn’t. Her parents walked out from behind a throng of people. 

 

“Here we are!” Her mother called, but her father didn’t speak. He was staring right at her. Nyota immediately leapt to her feet, forcing Spock up with her. 

 

“Mama! Baba!” She searched for something else to say, but there was nothing. 

 

“Nyota! We didn’t expect to see you out.” Nyota’s father looked and sounded confused. Next to him, her mother was peering between her and Spock with a small smile. It might have gone on that way for the whole evening, if the waitress hadn’t spoken up.

 

“Oh, you two know each other? How lovely! Let me see if I can seat you right next to each other!” Nyota still hadn’t spoken another word. Next to her Spock was also silent, his face a mask. 

 

“How exciting! Nyota, introduce us. Oh we get to spend the evening together after all!” Her mother smiled. Nyota delicately extracted her arm from Spock’s grasp.

 

“Mama, Baba, this is Spock. Spock, these are my parents.” Her father was examining Spock curiously, but her mother smiled.

 

“Spock, how nice of you to assist Nyota with her Vulcan. And how fortunate that we all ended up in the same place! When she talked about her meeting we assumed it would be on campus. Come! Let’s all sit!” The waitress reappeared with their menus, and the four of them followed her to a table. For four.

 

“You are so lucky. This group finished just as I was trying to seat you! There weren’t any small tables close to each other but this one is perfect!” 

 

Nyota ended up sitting on one side of the table with Spock, across from her father. Across from Spock, her mother was beaming.

 

“Now, I know you won’t get as much practice with Vulcan with us here, but you two should feel free to go ahead. Don’t mind us.” Nyota tried to smile convincingly to her mother, before turning to Spock.

 

“ _I am so sorry_ ” she apologized in perfect Vulcan. She’d had her Vulcan down pat since her first semester in the academy. Spock knew this. Her parents, thankfully, did not. Nor could they speak Vulcan. 

 

“ _I am unsure what is happening._ ”

 

“ _My mother is…I thought it best not to tell my parents that we were meeting this evening. For your own protection._ ” 

 

“ _I understand how mothers can be_.” Spock nodded, but Nyota felt the need to continue to explain.

 

“ _I told them I couldn’t go into the city with them tonight because I had a meeting. To practice Vulcan with you and improve. I apologize._ ” 

 

“ _There is no offense where none is taken._ ” Spock looked back to her parents. 

 

“Your daughter has an excellent mastery of Vulcan. If anything, I am fortunate to converse with one who knows the language so well.” 

 

Nyota’s father beamed, nodding proudly. “That’s my girl!” He laughed. Nyota smiled nervously. 

 

“So, Spock, tell us about yourself. How long have you taught at the academy? How old are you? Are you seeing anyone? Do you have future plans?” Nyota knew her mother could be especially friendly. Knew that in Nairobi her mother’s questions wouldn’t be seen as odd at all. But Spock was a Vulcan. She might as well have asked him the last time he had sex, and to demonstrate. Nyota could feel Spock tense up next to her. 

 

“Mama…” She tried to caution, but her mother waved her away. 

 

“Nyota, let him speak.” Desperate for something to do, Nyota slid her hand under the table to where Spock’s hand rested on his thigh, and tried to rub his hand consolingly. It was only after he leapt up from the table, staring at her in absolute shock, that she remembered how sexual that was for Vulcans. Her mother might have asked him about his sex life, but unbeknownst to most of the restaurant she had just put on a show. 

 

‘Excuse me.” Spock said, walking swiftly towards the restroom. Nyota bit her lip and stared after him, before turning to her parents. Her mother was frowning. 

 

“I am so sorry. I didn’t think I would offend him that much. He’s very private, would you say?” Nyota nodded, not knowing what else to do. She couldn’t very well admit that she had basically accidentally French kissed him at the table. 

 

Spock took a few minutes to return, and when he did he didn’t sit down. 

 

“I regret to inform you that I have been called back to the campus to take care of a pressing matter. Nyota would you like to accompany me?” 

 

“Oh, we’ll have dinner just the three of us! Don’t worry about her, we’ll get her back.” Nyota’s father smiled at Spock. Nyota averted her eyes from everyone, afraid to say anything. Vulcans didn’t lie, she knew that, but it was awfully convenient that he happened to be called back to campus the moment things went south. Spock nodded.

 

“Nyota. Nyota’s parents. Enjoy your evening.” Nothing about wanting to see her again, ever. Then Spock was gone. Nyota was horrified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to switch to having the Prompt at the end so I don't give away the awkward...
> 
> Prompt: Your parents are eating at the same restaurant and wow they really want to sit with us.


End file.
